Systems and methods for limiting network disruption

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method of reducing disruption in a cellular network. The method includes receiving a node table including IMS nodes. The IMS nodes include nodes designated as voice nodes and nodes designated as message nodes. The method includes transmitting the node table to user devices in the cellular network, and receiving a first register request from a user device including an IP address of a message node. In response to receiving the first register request, the method includes transmitting the first register request to the IP address of the message node included in the first register request, and receiving a second register request from the user device, the second register request including an IP address of a voice node. The method includes transmitting the second register request to the IP address of the at least one of the one or more voice nodes included in the second register request.

BACKGROUND

The background description provided herein is for the purpose ofgenerally presenting the context of the disclosure. The work of thepresently named inventors, to the extent it is described in thisbackground section, as well as aspects of the description that may nototherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neitherexpressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the presentdisclosure.

Cellular network providers may provide various forms of communicationoptions to their customers. For example, networks may provide voicecommunication, text communication, data access, etc. Traditionally,voice and messaging services may rely on the same network components.When errors occur that impact one of those services (e.g., messaging),voice service may be impacted as well due to the shared components.Systems are needed that may limit the disruptions resulting from thoseerrors.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of the present disclosure inorder to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of thedisclosure. This summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure.It is not intended to identify key or critical elements of thedisclosure or to delineate the scope of the disclosure. The followingsummary merely presents some concepts of the disclosure in a simplifiedform as a prelude to the more detailed description provided below.

In an embodiment, the disclosure describes a system for routingreal-time cellular network services. The system my include a voice callsession control function (CSCF) including a voice proxy CSCF (P-CSCF)server, a voice interrogating CSCF (I-CSCF) server, and a voice servingCSCF (S-CSCF) server. The system may also include a message CSCFincluding a message proxy CSCF (P-CSCF) server, a message interrogatingCSCF (I-CSCF) server, and a voice serving CSCF (S-CSCF) server. Thesystem may also include a traffic node including one or more processorsin communication with a memory containing processor-executableinstructions to receive a register request from a user device. Theregister request may include one of a voice indicator or a messageindicator. The memory also contains processor-executable instructions toidentify whether the register request includes the voice indicator orthe message indicator, and transmit the register request to the voiceCSCF when the voice indicator is identified and transmit the registerrequest to the message CSCF when the message indicator is identified.

In another embodiment, the disclosure a computer-implemented method forrouting real-time cellular network services. The method may includereceiving, at a traffic node, a first register request from a first userdevice. The first register request may include one of a voice indicatoror a message indicator. The method may include determining, via one ormore processors at the traffic node, that the first register requestincludes the voice indicator. Based on the determination that the firstregister request includes the voice indicator, the method may includetransmitting the first register request to a voice call session controlfunction (CSCF), where the voice CSCF may be configured to register userdevices with voice application servers. The method may include receivinga second register request from a second user device, where the secondregister request may include one of the voice indicator or the messageindicator. The method may include determining, via the one or moreprocessors, that the second register request includes the messageindicator. Based on the determination that the second register requestincludes the message indicator, the method may include transmitting thesecond register request to a message CSCF, where the message CSCF may beconfigured to register user devices with message application servers.

In another embodiment, the disclosure describes a computer-implementedmethod of reducing disruption in a cellular network. The method mayinclude receiving, at a traffic node, a node table including a pluralityof internet protocol (IP) multimedia core network subsystem (IMS) nodes.The plurality of IMS nodes may include one or more nodes designated asvoice nodes and one or more nodes designated as message nodes. Themethod may include transmitting the node table to one or more userdevice devices in the cellular network, and receiving, at the trafficnode, a first register request from a user device. The first registerrequest may include an internet protocol (IP) address of at least one ofthe one or more message nodes. In response to receiving the firstregister request, the method may include transmitting, by the trafficnode, the first register request to the IP address of the one or moremessage nodes included in the first register request. The method mayinclude receiving, at the traffic node, a second register request fromthe user device, where the second register request may include an IPaddress of at least one of the one or more voice nodes. In response toreceiving the second register request, the method may includetransmitting, by the traffic node, the second register request to the IPaddress of the one or more voice nodes included in the second registerrequest.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may be better understood by references to the detaileddescription when considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawings. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale,emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of theinvention. In the figures, like reference numerals designatecorresponding parts throughout the different views.

FIG. 1 is a high level diagram of an embodiment of a system for reducingnetwork disruption in accordance with the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a high level diagram of an embodiment of a network environmentfor a system and methods for reducing network disruption in accordancewith the disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a data flow diagram of an embodiment of using the system forreducing network disruption of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a method of reducing networkdisruption using the system of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of elements of an embodiment of anexample computing device; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of elements of an embodiment of aserver type computing device.

Persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that elements inthe figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity so not allconnections and options have been shown to avoid obscuring the inventiveaspects. For example, common but well-understood elements that areuseful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are not oftendepicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these variousembodiments of the present disclosure. It will be further appreciatedthat certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in aparticular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art willunderstand that such specificity with respect to sequence is notactually required. It will also be understood that the terms andexpressions used herein are to be defined with respect to theircorresponding respective areas of inquiry and study except wherespecific meaning have otherwise been set forth herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, andwhich show, by way of illustration, specific exemplary embodiments bywhich the invention may be practiced. These illustrations and exemplaryembodiments are presented with the understanding that the presentdisclosure is an exemplification of the principles of one or moreinventions and is not intended to limit any one of the inventions to theembodiments illustrated. The invention may be embodied in many differentforms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments setforth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that thisdisclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey thescope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Among other things,the present invention may be embodied as methods or devices.Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirelyhardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodimentcombining software and hardware aspects. The following detaileddescription is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense.

Network providers, such as entities providing cellular phone and dataservice, may use various hardware, software, or other tools and systemsto provide various types of network services. For example, a cellularnetwork may provide its customers access to voice services, messagingservices, data services, etc. In some embodiments, the networkinfrastructure for providing one or more of these services may utilizecommon components. For example, some networks may use the same internetprotocol (IP) multimedia core network subsystem (IMS or IMS core) toprovide both messaging and voice services. In some embodiments, networksmay use the same call session control function (CSCF) for both voice andmessaging services.

FIG. 1 shows a high-level system diagram of a portion of a cellularnetwork 100. In some embodiments, the user equipment (UE), such as acellular telephone, tablet, or other connected device, may exchangesignals with one or more base stations 104 within range. In someembodiments, the base station 104 may include E-UTRAN Node B) (“eNB” or“eNodeB) (e.g., for LTE networks), base transceiver station (BTS) (e.g.,for GSM networks), Node B (e.g., for UTRA of UMTS), Home eNodeBs (HeNB),Donor eNodeBs (DeNB), and Relay Nodes, or other suitable hardware. Thebase station 104 may transmit signals to a traffic node 110, such as apacket data gateway (PGW) or a policy and charging rules function(PCRF). A UE 102 may have simultaneous connectivity with more than onePGW or other traffic node for accessing multiple packet data networks(PDNs). In some embodiments, the PGW may perform policy enforcement,packet filtering for each user, charging support, lawful interceptionand packet screening. The PGW may also act as the anchor for mobilitybetween 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) and non-3GPPtechnologies such as WiMAX and 3GPP2 (CDMA 1X and EvDO). The PGW mayinterface with one or more serving gateways (SGWs) via the S5/S8protocol, for example. In some embodiments, the traffic node 110 mayinclude a gateway General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) support node(GGSN) instead of a PGW and a serving GPRS support node (SGSN) insteadof an SGW. In such embodiments, the GGSN may be responsible for theinterworking between the GPRS network and external packet switchednetworks, like the Internet and X.25 networks. In some embodiments, suchas 5G network embodiments, the traffic node may be replaced by a sessionmanagement function (SMF). In some embodiments, the traffic node 110 maydirect traffic to particular components within the IMS core 115, such asa Call Session Control Function (CSCF). The components within the IMScore 115 may then interface with the appropriate application servers 120depending on the particular type of service requested by the UE 102. Forexample, in some embodiments, the IMS core 115 components may registerwith a telephony application server (TAS) or other voice applicationserver for voice services or with a messaging server for messagingservices (e.g., rich communication services (RCS), etc.).

Traditionally, in some embodiments, the same one or more CSCFs withinthe IMS core 115 may be used to handle both message services requestedby the UE 102 and voice services requested by the UE 102. In suchembodiments, same one or more CSCFs may register a UE with theappropriate application servers. Traditionally, when a problem ariseswith one of these services, such as voice services, the problem mayspill over into the messaging services and disrupt both voice andmessaging services instead of only voice services. For example, userequipment may attempt to make a voice call and if it fails, it mayautomatically redial, or the user may manually redial once or multipletimes. If many users at once are experiencing the same failuresresulting from an underlying problem with the voice service, therepeated attempts and failures to connect may increase the load onsystem and to the IMS core components such that message services may beinterrupted also even if no underlying problem with the messages systemhad been present. Accordingly, in some traditional systems, problemswith one service (e.g., messaging or voice), may cascade over into otherservices as the common components (e.g., CSCFs) may be overwhelmed andusers may be unable to access either voice or message services. Asimilar situation may occur based on an underlying problem with themessaging service as many user’s devices may make repeated attempts totransmit message information upon failure.

In some embodiments, the disclosure describes a system and method forreducing network disruption that may include de-coupling the commonnetwork nodes that handle registering voice services with voiceapplication servers and that handle registering messaging services withmessaging services. For example, in some embodiments, the system mayinclude establishing one or more voice nodes (e.g., voice CSCFs that mayonly handle voice services and one or more messaging nodes (e.g.,messaging CSCFs) that may only handle messaging services. In someembodiments, when a user attempts to send a message using the messagingservice, a traffic node may determine that the message services arebeing requested and route the request to a messaging CSCF forregistration with a messaging application server. In contrast, when auser attempts to make a voice call using the network’s voice services,the traffic node may determine that voice services are being requestedand route the request to a voice CSCF for registration with a voiceapplication server. In some embodiments, other types of services may beincluded with dedicated components as well.

In some embodiments, the network provider may determine how todistribute messaging nodes and voice nodes in the system. Depending onhow the network provider anticipates users to utilize the network (basedon past usage data or other analysis), the network provider may dedicatea messaging proportion of CSCFs and a voice proportion of CSCFs. Forexample, a geographic area served by the network provider may include anetwork infrastructure with 100 total CSCFs included in the IMS core.Based on historic network usage data, the network provider may determinethat 60 of the 100 CSCFs should be messaging CSCFs and 40 of the 100CSCFs should be voice CSCFs. In such an embodiment, the messagingproportion would be 60%, and the voice proportion would be 40%. Ofcourse, those skilled in the art will understand that other proportionsmay be used based on any variety of network or business factors.

FIG. 2 is a system component diagram of illustrating an embodiment of asystem for reducing network disruption. The system 200 may include userequipment (UE) 202, such as a mobile phone or smartphone, tablet, etc.,may transmit a signal to one or more network base stations 204. In someembodiments, such as for long term evolution (LTE) networks, the basestation 204 may connect the UE 202 to a the evolved packet core (EPC)206, which may include at least a serving gateway (SGW) 208, a mobilemanagement entity (MME) 210, and a PGW 212. The EPC 206 may also includea home subscriber server (HSS) 214. It should be understood by thoseskilled in the art that other types of networks may includecorresponding components. For example, in embodiments that include a GSMnetwork, a GPRS may be used instead of or in addition to an EPC. TheGPRS may support packet switching traffic in a GSM network. The GPRS mayinclude a gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) instead of a PGW and aserving GPRS support node (SGSN) 208 instead of an SGW.

The PGW 212 may interface with a policy and charging rules function(PCRF) 216. The PCRF 216 may include rules and policies related toquality of service (QoS) and charging. In some embodiments, access tonetwork resources may be distributed to the PGW 121 and enforced by thePCRF 216. The PCRF 216 may interface with the PGW 212 using the Gxprotocol. In some embodiments, the PCRF 216 may be a software nodedesignated in real-time to determine policy rules in the network. ThePCRF 216 may be a software component that may operate at the corenetwork 206 and may access subscriber databases and other specializedfunctions, such as a charging system, in a centralized manner. The PCRF216 may be the part of the network architecture that aggregatesinformation to and from the network, operational support systems, andother sources (such as portals) in substantially real time, supportingthe creation of rules and then automatically making policy decisions foreach subscriber active on the network. In some embodiments, a networkmight offer multiple services, quality of service (QoS) levels, andcharging rules. The PCRF 216 may also be integrated with differentplatforms like billing, rating, charging, and subscriber database or canalso be deployed as a standalone entity. In voice over LTE (VoLTE), thePCRF 216 may also be a mediator of network resources for the network forestablishing the calls and allocating the requested bandwidth to thecall bearer with configured attributes. For any given attempt to accessthe network, either for a voice call or data transfer, the PGW 212 mayhave one or more PCRF 216 options with which to interface.

The PGW 212 may also act as a traffic node between the UE 202 and theIMS core 218. The IMS core 218 may include one or more CSCFs, one ormore of which may be designated as message CSCFs 220 and one or more ofwhich may be designated as voice CSCF 222. Each CSCF may have a proxyCSCF (P-CSCF), an interrogating CSCF (I-CSCF), and a serving CSCF(S-CSCF). The P-CSCF may be a Session Initiated Protocol (SIP) proxythat may be the first point of contact for the IMS core 218. The P-CSCFmay function as a proxy server for the UE, and all SIP signaling trafficto and from the UE may go through the P-CSCF. The P-CSCF may and thenforward requests from the UE and then process and forward the responsesto the UE. The I-CSCF may interrogate the HSS 214 to obtain the addressof the relevant S-CSCF to process a SIP initiation request. The S-CSCFmay be the primary node in the IMS core 218 responsible for sessioncontrol. Users may be allocated a S-CSCF for the duration of their IMSregistration in order to facilitate routing of SIP messages as part ofservice establishment procedures. Consequently, the S-CSCF may downloada subscriber profile from the HSS 214 at the time of registration, whichmay allow the S-CSCF to ascertain which application server in theapplication layer 236 to which any service requests should be sent. Forexample, message requests may be sent to the message application server(AS) 238, and voice requests may be sent to the voice AS 240.

In some embodiments, each message CSCF 220 may include a message P-CSCF224, a message S-CSCF 226, and a message I-CSCF 228. In someembodiments, each voice CSCF 222 may include a voice P-CSCF 230, a voiceS-CSCF 232, and a voice I-CSCF 234. In some embodiments, the trafficnode (e.g., PGW 212) may receive a register request from UE 202 via theone or more base stations 204 or other network components. The registerrequest may include one of a voice indicator or a message indicator. Insome embodiments, the voice indicator may be one of a variety of flags,markers, or other data indicator in the register request that indicatesto the PGW 212 that the user may be attempting to make a voice callconnection. The message indicator may be one of a variety of flags,markers, or other data indicator in the register request that indicatesto the PGW 212 that the user may be attempting to send a message, suchas a text message or multimedia message. Upon identifying whether theregister request includes either a voice indicator or a messageindicator, the PGW 212 may determine which type of CSCF to which therequest should be sent. If the PGW 212 identifies a voice indicator, thePGW may transmit the register request to one of a plurality of voiceCSCFs, such as the voice CSCF 222. More specifically, the PGW 212 maytransmit the request to the voice P-CSCF 230. The voice I-CSCF 234 mayinterrogate the HSS 214 to determine which voice S-CSCF to use, such asvoice S-CSCF 232. The designated voice S-CSCF 232 may then register therequest with an appropriate AS in the application layer 236, such asvoice AS 240.

A similar process may occur when the PGW 212 identifies that theregister request includes a message identifier. If the PGW 212identifies a message indicator, the PGW may transmit the registerrequest to one of a plurality of message CSCFs, such as the message CSCF220. More specifically, the PGW 212 may transmit the request to themessage P-CSCF 224. The message I-CSCF 228 may interrogate the HSS 214to determine which message S-CSCF to use, such as message S-CSCF 226.The designated message S-CSCF 226 may then register the request with anappropriate AS in the application layer 236, such as message AS 238.

In some embodiments that include one or more designated message CSCFs220 and one or more separate designated voice CSCFs 222, problems thataffect the voice services for the network may not spill over into themessage services. For example, if the voice services encounter a problemthat leads to many voice calls failing, the load on the voice CSCFs mayincrease (as described above), but because they may be separate from themessage CSCFs, the load may not spill over into the message service. Inother words, the problem with the voice service may be contained withinthe voice system only, not affect the message system as it may have donein traditional systems. Similarly, if a problem occurs in the messageservice, the problem may be restricted to message services and not spillover into the voice service. Thus, in some embodiments, the disclosedsystem and method may provide one aspect of a network (e.g., messages)to remain functional if another aspect (e.g., voice) encountersproblems.

FIG. 3 shows a data flow diagram 300 of an embodiment of how data forreal-time cellular activity may be routed from different components insome embodiments of the system for limiting network disruption. In someembodiments, the network provider may design the network or a portion ofthe network with certain CSCFs designated as voice CSCFs and certainCSCFs designated as message CSCFs. This information may be included in anode table and injected into the PGW 212. In some embodiments, the nodetable may include the IP addresses for each CSCF along with a tag orother indicator of whether each particular CSCF is a voice CSCF or amessage CSCF. More particularly, the IP address included in the nodetable may be the IP address for the P-CSCF for each particular voice ormessage CSCF. Table 1, below, illustrates one merely exemplaryembodiment of a node table:

TABLE 1 1 Message P-CSCF IP Address 1 2 Voice P-CSCF IP Address 2 3Message P-CSCF IP Address 3 4 Voice P-CSCF IP Address 4

At 302, the PGW 212 may transmit the node table to each UE 202 in thenetwork or in the portion of the network serviced by that PGW. The UE202 may then proceed with a message flow 304 or a voice flow 312,depending on whether the user is choosing to send a message or connectfor a voice call, respectively. At 306, when the user attempts to usethe UE 202 to send a message, the UE may transmit a register request tothe PGW 212. In some embodiments, the register request may include aprotocol configuration option (PCO) that, based on the node tablereceive from the PGW, may include the IP address or addresses for one ormore message P-CSCFs. In some embodiments, the register request sent bythe UE 202 may include a priority list of P-CSCFs tagged with a messageindicator. In some embodiments, the UE 202 may only send IP addresses ofmessage P-CSCFs based on the UE’s knowledge that it is sending amessage. At 308, based on the indication that the register requestincluded a message indicator, or based on the IP address for messageP-CSCFs received from the UE 202, the PGW 212 may transmit the registerrequest to the first message CSCF 220 on the list, or the second orthird if the first is not available. In some embodiments, the registerrequest may be sent to the message CSCF 220 via SIP. Once the messageP-CSCF in the message CSCF 220 receives the SIP request, the othercomponents of the message CSCF may complete additional standardprotocols and, at 310, may transmit the request to the appropriateapplication server, such as the message application server 238 so thatthe user’s message may be transmitted to its recipient.

The voice flow 312 may work in a similar manner for voice service. At314, when the user attempts to use the UE 202 to make a voice call, theUE may transmit a register request to the PGW 212. In some embodiments,the register request may include a protocol configuration option (PCO)that, based on the node table receive from the PGW, may include the IPaddress or addresses for one or more voice P-CSCFs. In some embodiments,the register request sent by the UE 202 may include a priority list ofP-CSCFs tagged with a voice indicator. In some embodiments, the UE 202may only send IP addresses of voice P-CSCFs based on the UE’s knowledgethat it is making a voice call. At 316, based on the indication that theregister request included a voice indicator, or based on the IP addressfor voice P-CSCFs received from the UE 202, the PGW 212 may transmit theregister request to the first voice CSCF 222 on the list, or the secondor third if the first is not available. In some embodiments, theregister request may be sent to the voice CSCF 222 via SIP. Once thevoice P-CSCF in the voice CSCF 222 receives the SIP request, the othercomponents of the voice CSCF may complete additional standard protocolsand, at 318, may transmit the request to the appropriate applicationserver, such as the voice application server 240 so that the user’svoice call may be connected with its recipient. Those of skill in theart will understand that other known protocols and data flow betweenstandard components and network nodes may also take place but that arenot shown or described in the figures herein.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method 400 of using thesystem for limiting network disruption. At 402, the traffic node (e.g.,PGW, GGSN, etc.) that may be part of the network’s packet core mayreceive a node table that may include designations for at least portionof the network’ CSCFs or P-CSCFs as either message CSCFs or voice CSCFs.It is also contemplated that, in some embodiments, additional servicesthan voice and data may also receive CSCFs with separate or additionaldesignations. The designations in the node table may be received fromthe network provider, and may reflect automatically or manuallydetermined network design priorities that may be based on historic usageof each respective service. For example, a network or portion of anetwork that may be used more for messaging than voice services may bedesigned with more message CSCFs than voice CSCFs. In some embodiments,the node table may be updated periodically based on network loads,network usage, etc. In some embodiments, the updates may be injectedmanually, or may be determined automatically based on predeterminedcriteria, such as message volume, voice call volume, or other networkdata. At 404, the method may include transmitting the node table (or thedata in the node table) to one or more UEs on the network. In someembodiments, each UE may be assigned or connected to more than onetraffic node, and the UEs may change over time. It should be understoodthat the node table may be transmitted to the UEs through one or morebase stations or other network infrastructure.

At 406, the method may include receiving a request from a UE to initiatea type of service via the network. For example, the user may beattempting to send a text or multimedia message, initiate a voice call,etc. In some embodiments, this request may be a register request from aUE, such as a user’s mobile computing device or any other device on thenetwork. The register request (or other form of request) may be madeusing one of any number of suitable protocols or communication methods.For example, the register request may be made using SIP or via a packetdata network (PDN) connectivity request. In some embodiments, theregister request may include a protocol configuration option (PCO) thatmay include one or more IP addressed for IMS core components such as aP-CSCF. The register request may include an indicator as to which typeof service the UE may be attempting to access (e.g., message, voice,data, etc.). As described above, the type of service may be indicated ina variety of suitable ways, such as via a node table identifying apriority of IMS core components to contact. For example, the registerrequest may include a priority list of message P-CSCFs for a messagerequest, or include a priority list of voice P-CSCFs for a voice callrequest. In some embodiments, the request may include another type ofindicator detectable by the traffic node that indicates to the trafficnode which type of service is being requested.

At 408, the method may include identifying whether a voice indicator ora message indicator may be present in the register request. At 410, if amessage indicator is determined to be present, the traffic node may, at412, transmit the register request to a message CSCF or, morespecifically, the IP address of a designated message P-CSCF indicated ina the request, such as in the PCO. In some embodiments, the registerrequest transmitted to the message CSCF may be a SIP message. If, at410, the traffic node determines that no message indicator is presentthen, at 414, the traffic node may determine whether a voice indicatoris present in the register request. If yes, then at 416, the method mayinclude transmitting the register request to a voice CSCF or, morespecifically, the IP address of a designated voice P-CSCF indicated in athe request, such as in the PCO. In some embodiments, the registerrequest transmitted to the voice CSCF may be a SIP message. It should beunderstood by those skilled in the art that various alternative methodsfor identifying, choosing, and transmitting service initiation requestsfrom a UE to an appropriate CSCF designated specifically for therequested service may also be used without straying from the spirit ofthe disclosure.

At least one technical effect of the disclosed system and methods may beto significantly reduce network downtime and/or the risk of errorsoccurring related to one network service (e.g., voice calls) spillingover to and negatively affecting other network service (e.g.,messaging). In some embodiments, additional types of services may bedesignated in a similar manner within the meaning of the disclosure.Although the disclosure describes use with traffic nodes such as PGWsand IMS core components such as CSCFs, those skilled in the art willunderstand that the teachings of the disclosure may apply to othersuitable network components that may encounter similar problems and beamenable to similar solutions within the meaning of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a simplified illustration of some physical elements that maymake up an embodiment of a computing device, such as the UE 102, andFIG. 6 is a simplified illustration of the physical elements that makeup an embodiment of a server type computing device, such as may be usedfor the application servers 120, the voice and messaging CSCFs, or othernetwork nodes. Referring to FIG. 5 , a sample computing device isillustrated that is physically configured to be part of the systems andmethod for reducing network disruptions. The computing device 102 mayhave a processor 1451 that is physically configured according tocomputer executable instructions. In some embodiments, the processor maybe specially designed or configured to optimize communication between aserver relating to the system described herein. The computing device 102may have a portable power supply 1455 such as a battery, which may berechargeable. It may also have a sound and video module 1461 whichassists in displaying video and sound and may turn off when not in useto conserve power and battery life. The computing device 102 may alsohave volatile memory 1465 and non-volatile memory 1471. The computingdevice 102 may have GPS capabilities that may be a separate circuit ormay be part of the processor 1451. There also may be an input/output bus1475 that shuttles data to and from the various user input/outputdevices such as a microphone, a camera, a display, or other input/outputdevices. The computing device 102 also may control communicating withnetworks either through wireless or wired devices. Of course, this isjust one embodiment of a computing device 102 and the number and typesof computing devices 102 is limited only by the imagination.

The physical elements that make up an embodiment of a server, such asthe application servers 120 or traffic node 212, are further illustratedin FIG. 6 . In some embodiments, the traffic node server may bespecially configured to run the system and methods for reducing networkdisruptions as disclosed herein. At a high level, the server 120 mayinclude a digital storage such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk,flash storage, non-volatile storage, etc. Structured data may be storedin the digital storage a database. More specifically, the server 120 mayhave a processor 1500 that is physically configured according tocomputer executable instructions. In some embodiments, the processor1500 can be specially designed or configured to optimize communicationbetween a computing device, such as computing device 102, or betweenother system nodes such as a requesting node, and the server 120relating to the system as described herein. The server 120 may also havea sound and video module 1505 which assists in displaying video andsound and may turn off when not in use to conserve power and batterylife. The server 120 may also have volatile memory 1510 and non-volatilememory 1515.

A database 1525 for digitally storing structured data may be stored inthe memory 1510 or 1515 or may be separate. The database 1525 may alsobe part of a cloud of servers and may be stored in a distributed manneracross a plurality of servers. There also may be an input/output bus1520 that shuttles data to and from the various user input devices suchas a microphone, a camera, a display monitor or screen, etc. Theinput/output bus 1520 also may control communicating with networkseither through wireless or wired devices. In some embodiments, a userdata controller for running a user data API may be located on thecomputing device 102. However, in other embodiments, the user datacontroller may be located on server 120, or both the computing device102 and the server 120. Of course, this is just one embodiment of theserver 120 and additional types of servers are contemplated herein.

The figures depict preferred embodiments for purposes of illustrationonly. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the followingdiscussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methodsillustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principlesdescribed herein.

Upon reading this disclosure, those of skill in the art will appreciatestill additional alternative structural and functional designs for thesystems and methods described herein through the disclosed principlesherein. Thus, while particular embodiments and applications have beenillustrated and described, it is to be understood that the disclosedembodiments are not limited to the precise construction and componentsdisclosed herein. Various modifications, changes and variations, whichwill be apparent to those skilled in the art, may be made in thearrangement, operation and details of the systems and methods disclosedherein without departing from the spirit and scope defined in anyappended claims.

1-14. (canceled)
 15. A computer-implemented method of reducingdisruption in a cellular network, the method comprising: receiving, at atraffic node, a node table including a plurality of internet protocol(IP) multimedia core network subsystem (IMS) nodes, the plurality of IMSnodes including one or more nodes designated as voice nodes and one ormore nodes designated as message nodes; transmitting the node table toone or more user devices in the cellular network; receiving, at thetraffic node, a first register request from a user device, the firstregister request including an internet protocol (IP) address of at leastone of the one or more message nodes; in response to receiving the firstregister request, transmitting, by the traffic node, the first registerrequest to the IP address of the at least one of the one or more messagenodes included in the first register request; receiving, at the trafficnode, a second register request from the user device, the secondregister request including an IP address of at least one of the one ormore voice nodes; and in response to receiving the second registerrequest, transmitting, by the traffic node, the second register requestto the IP address of the at least one of the one or more voice nodesincluded in the second register request.
 16. The method of claim 15,wherein the traffic node is a provisioning gateway (PGW).
 17. The methodof claim 15, where the plurality of IMS nodes are call session controlfunctions (CSCFs).
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein each CSCFincludes a proxy CSCF (P-CSCF), and wherein the IP address included inthe first register request is the IP address of a message P-CSCF and theIP address include included in the second register request is the IPaddress of a voice P-CSCF.
 19. The method of claim 15, wherein theregister request is a packet data network (PDN) connectivity request.20. The method of claim 15 further comprising periodically receiving, atthe traffic node, updated node tables reflecting updated designations ofmessage nodes and voice nodes.
 21. A computer-implemented methodcomprising: receiving a node table including a plurality of nodes in acellular network, the plurality nodes including at least one voice nodeand at least one message node; transmitting the node table to one ormore user devices in the cellular network; receiving a first registerrequest from a user device, the first register request including aninternet protocol (IP) address of the at least one message node; inresponse to receiving the first register request, transmitting the firstregister request to the IP address of the at least one message nodeincluded in the first register request; receiving a second registerrequest from the user device, the second register request including anIP address of the at least one voice node; and in response to receivingthe second register request, transmitting the second register request tothe IP address of the at least one voice node included in the secondregister request.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the node table isreceived by a traffic node of the cellular network.
 23. The method ofclaim 22, wherein the traffic node is a provisioning gateway (PGW). 24.The method of claim 21, where the plurality of nodes are call sessioncontrol functions (CSCFs).
 25. The method of claim 24, wherein each CSCFincludes a proxy CSCF (P-CSCF), and wherein the IP address included inthe first register request is the IP address of a message P-CSCF and theIP address include in the second register request is the IP address of avoice P-CSCF.
 26. The method of claim 21, wherein the register requestis a packet data network (PDN) connectivity request.
 27. The method ofclaim 21 further comprising periodically receiving updated node tablesreflecting updated designations of message nodes and voice nodes. 28.The method of claim 21, wherein the plurality of nodes in the cellularnetwork are each internet protocol multimedia core network subsystemnodes.
 29. A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving, at atraffic node of a cellular network, a node table including one or morevoice nodes and one or more message nodes; transmitting the node tableto one or more user devices in the cellular network; receiving, at thetraffic node, a first register request from a user device, the firstregister request identifying a message node of the one or more messagenodes; in response to receiving the first register request,transmitting, by the traffic node, the first register request to themessage node identified in the first register request; receiving, at thetraffic node, a second register request from the user device, the secondregister request identifying a voice node of the one or more voicenodes; and in response to receiving the second register request,transmitting, by the traffic node, the second register request to thevoice node identified in the second register request.
 30. The method ofclaim 29, wherein the traffic node is a provisioning gateway (PGW). 31.The method of claim 29, wherein each of the one or more message nodesincludes a message proxy call session control function (P-CSCF), andwherein each of the one or more voice nodes includes a voice P-CSCF. 32.The method of claim 29, wherein the register request is a packet datanetwork (PDN) connectivity request.
 33. The method of claim 29 furthercomprising periodically receiving, at the traffic node, updated nodetables reflecting updated designations of one or message nodes and theone or more voice nodes.
 34. The method of claim 29, wherein each of theone or more message nodes and each of the one or more voice notes is aninternet protocol multimedia core network subsystem node.